Alone Together
by klrob
Summary: "They would come to each other whenever they had a bad day, or needed to be comforted... And that was almost every day." Rachel Roth and Richard Grayson were there for each other through everything. But this time... it was different. AU Rae/Rob
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, I thought I would start a new story… But just to let people know, this story won't be updated too often since it's going to be one of the "backburner stories." But I would love it if you still read it and all…

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything mentioned in this story. I do own one person who appears later in the story.

**Prologue**

Rachel Roth was in her senior year at Jump City High. She was best friends with her neighbor, Richard Grayson, and knew him better than anyone. So she could definitely tell when something was off about him, which was what was up with today. She did have one idea, but she wasn't sure about it. She grabbed the arm of her best friend, Jennifer, and quickly asked her, "Hey, what day is it today?"

"April 25th (1). Why?"

Rachel winced. "No reason. The varsity football team is practicing today, right?"

Jennifer nodded. She would know, since she was dating Victor Stone, the starting quarterback. "Why? Shouldn't you know? I mean, Dick is the star running back. And your best friend, so…"

"Just checking."

The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly, as did her dance rehearsal. She was on the senior dance team, who practiced at the same time as the varsity football team. She had to make sure she caught Richard before he left to go home.

As the rehearsal ended, she ran out of the auditorium with all of her stuff and stopped to rest outside of the doors where she knew the football team would soon be piling out of. She should've probably put on her shirt or a jacket or something, but she would just have to stay in her sports bra and shorts. In a matter of seconds after her arrival, the football team came out as she predicted. Rachel easily found Richard's head of hair, since he wasn't really talking to anyone. She seriously doubted he would anyways.

She quickly caught up to his stride and followed him silently to his car. He opened the trunk of his highlander and put his football bag and backpack into it. He took Rachel's bags from her and put those into the back as well. He closed the trunk silently and began to walk towards the driver's side, but Rachel grabbed his arm. She looked into his eyes as she took the keys out of his hand with the one that wasn't holding his arm. She pushed him towards the passenger seat as she went to drive the car.

The ride home was silent, to say the least. It wasn't in any way awkward, but it was still too silent for Rachel. Richard stared at the outside as she drove and she concentrated on something that wasn't silent.

The two arrived at Wayne Manor and she parked inside the four car garage. They silently got out and went to the trunk to get their things out. He grabbed her dance stuff before she could, and they walked into his mansion together. They dropped Rachel's stuff by the door for when she left, and his football stuff that he would need to have Alfred wash. Rachel took the lead up the stairs to his room and grabbed his hand, pulling him along.

Rachel saw Bruce poke his head out of the kitchen, expecting only Richard, but saw Rachel pulling him upstairs. She smiled at him sadly and nodded once in his direction. He nodded back, understanding the hidden meaning. Rachel and Richard finally made it up the stairs and into his room, where he dropped his backpack off on the desk chair. He turned back to Rachel, who moved into his arms. He put his hands on her hips, unsure if he should push her away or pull her closer. Rachel made the decision for him and moved closer to him. She simply kissed him flat on the mouth, lacking the passion or spark that normally occurred.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes, which were slowly clouding over with desire and lust. He kissed her this time, but with lots more passion. Rachel knew that she should let him take over this time, since he needed this. He needed her more than any other day. They would come to each other whenever they had a bad day, or needed to be comforted, or were just plain horny. And that was almost every day. This situation had started in the middle of their junior year, on this same day. Rachel could always tell he needed something, but she wasn't sure until it had started. He just needed… _her_. Especially today.

By the time they had finished, they lay together in a tangle of naked limbs. Richard rested his head just beneath her breasts, and she calmly played with his hair. He looked slightly better than he did before the sex, but still lost, almost like an abandoned puppy dog. And that was exactly what he was.

She ran her fingers through his long, wavy hair, trying to get his attention. He looked up at her, resting his chin on her stomach.

"It's okay to cry, you know." Richard finally processed what she had given him permission to do: cry. He wasn't sure if he could anymore, after all the years that had gone by. But as she said that, his eyes had slowly filled up with the tears he had held back for the past 11 years. They slowly ran down his face, unnoticed. Rachel's eyes had unshed tears in them as well, not for her, but for him. For what he had lost. For what he had to go through every day. He managed to keep it together for 364 days of the year, but this one day… He could let go.

Rachel took his crying face into her arms and hugged him close to her chest. She felt something wet leave her eyes, and that had triggered something inside of her. Before she knew it, they were both crying, silently, but together.

Hours later, when Richard had finally cried himself to sleep, Rachel's phone flashed with a text message. She quickly responded to Victor with the answer he had wanted to make sure of.

It was April 25th, the day Mary and John Grayson had died in a tragic accident. And it was her job to help him through it.

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(1) I'm not really sure when his parents died exactly, but… let's just assume it was April 25th.

Reviews are greatly appreciated…

~klrob


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm going to update this one… get a little start on it. Thanks for all the reviews! It's a little filler chapter. I'll get onto the big stuff in the next chapter.

**Chapter 1 (or 2…?)**

They lay together, panting in the afterglow of sex. It's been about a month since the Graysons death date had passed, and Rachel could tell that Rich was definitely feeling better. And when he was feeling better, so was she…

Richard slowly got up off the bed and put on a pair of discarded sweatpants. It was a Saturday, and Rachel always slept over on Friday nights after his football games. They weren't dating, yet she still wore his jersey to school every Friday. He wasn't complaining about it, but it was… weird. They weren't going out and they would constantly deny a romantic relationship, but they slept together. Often. Richard looked over at his best friend, who was peacefully resting naked in his bed. She looked sexy, he wouldn't deny that. But he would kill anyone else who said that.

Richard had heard a rumor going around that Jason Todd was going to ask her out, and he was determined not to let that happen. He hated feeling protective over her, but brushed it off as a brotherly feeling from knowing her so long. It couldn't have been anywhere close to being jealous, since he was going to ask Kori Anders out anyways. She always had a crush on him, and he had something for her. She was definitely hot, but he wasn't sure if it was anything more than lust.

A monotonous voice caught his attention. "Why are you staring at me?"

He turned his attention to the vixen still lying in his bed, but had covered up everything except her pale and creamy shoulders and up. "Just thinking. Sorry."

"I don't mind. It's just weird. You were staring at me. Makes me feel kind of self-conscious."

He chuckled at her bluntness. "Well, you shouldn't. I've seen you naked since we were 7 or 8. You were never too modest."

"Since I actually have breasts and hair on my body, I think I'm starting to actually become more modest."

"You weren't so worried about that five minutes ago."

"Shut up." An uncharacteristic giggle fell out of her mouth as she threw the pillow next to her at him, which he evaded easily.

"Don't throw pillows at me." Richard picked up the pillow and threw it back at her, which hit her in the face. "Don't hit me in the face with one." Rachel threw the pillow at him again, but he caught it as he made his way over to her. He threw it at her lightly, which she caught in front of her face, effectively blocking her view of where he was in the room. She moved it away from her face and he was in front of her, pushing her back down in the bed and straddling her.

He threw the pillow to some other place in the room and proceeded to kiss her. She pushed back harder and their tongues were put into a battle of strength. The sudden make-out session led to the building desire in his groin. The sex was hot, but their feelings towards each other really weren't. As far as he knew.

And then it was Sunday. Richard wondered where the time went, because all he did over the weekend was fool around with Rachel. It was weird. They would normally fool around for a little bit on Saturday, then get serious and restrict the sex until Monday. He walked Rachel out and watched her cross the lawn over to her house. Her mom wouldn't be home for another few hours, since she had taken the late shift last night. Rachel's mother was a nurse, and it definitely showed. But she was a great woman who was always kind. Even to Rachel's bastard of a father, Trigon.

Rachel made it over to her house, and saw Jennifer's car sitting in the driveway. She walked over to the purple car and leaned in the driver's window.

"Hey."

"Hey." Jennifer turned up the radio and they both sat for a couple seconds, listening. "You want a piece of gum?"

Rachel took it out of Jennifer's hand and ran to drop her things off inside her house. She checked her hair and didn't both fixing it up too much. She pulled it into a loose ponytail and jogged back out to Jennifer's car. She jumped in the passenger seat and Jennifer took off. They were supposed to meet up with some of their friends at the laser tag place, and agreed beforehand to go earlier than everyone else.

"So, bitch, why were you over at Dickie's so early this morning?" Jennifer and Rachel's relationship was a love-hate one, but mostly love. They had crude nicknames for each other, but hung out whenever Rachel wasn't with Dick.

"Because I was getting some breakfast off of him."

"Sure you weren't whoring yourself off?" Rachel slapped Jennifer's arm and snickered. "Yes, I'm sure."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Right. I'll believe that when Vic asks you out."

"Vic would ask me out."

"Yeah, when he's dead."

"It's because I'm like a little sister to him! I would never even accept his offer to go out. Besides, you called dibs…"

"Shut up. It's just a crush, I told you." Jennifer was blushing hard and Rachel was laughing hard.

"God, you're so into him. Just ask him out."

Jennifer glanced at Rachel strangely. "What the hell? I may be pretty kick ass, but I would never ask Victor Stone out. I would never ask any guy out."

"Of course you wouldn't…"

"Do not make me pull this car over and beat the shit out of you." Rachel's cell phone rang and she looked at it. Jennifer leaned over to see who it was, and they both saw the name 'Sexy God' flashing on her phone.

"Who the hell is that," Jennifer squealed. Rachel wanted to slap her, but they would get into an accident if she did…

She put the call through and quickly said before anyone answered, "You're on speaker."

"Hey." Richard's gruff voice came over the phone and Jennifer squealed again.

"Ohmigod, he's listed under 'Sexy God' in your contacts?"

Rachel looked at Jennifer. "Shut up!" She took the phone off of speaker and put it against her ear. "Yeah?"

"You left your… uh, thong… at my house." Rachel blushed and looked at Jennifer. She was completely relieved that she hadn't heard what he just said, or what it implied.

"I did?" She squirmed around in her seat, discreetly feeling her ass.

"Yeah." His voice was slightly husky, and she could tell from that one word he was getting aroused. Rachel could imagine him holding the thong in his hand while he sat at his desk, just staring at it without a shirt… commando under his sweatpants… She could feel herself get wet once again and sighed.

"Fuck."

She could feel Richard's wolfish grin at the other end of the line. "I would love to. God, just looking at this…. thing is making me hard."

She smirked and looked out the window, in the opposite direction of Jennifer.

"Wish I could help, but you'd have to wait until laser tag later."

She heard something squeak in the background and she blushed. "Fuck, yeah… both of us in the dark… You want me to bring it?"

"Don't forget the you-know-whats. See you in 30." She ended the call before he could say anything else and turned back to Jennifer. Her nosy best friend was smirking to herself and Rachel had the urge to slap it off of her.

"What now?"

"So, what is he bringing?"

"Tampons. My period is supposed to be starting soon, and I left some at his house. He told me he would bring some for me." Come to think of it, Rachel couldn't remember the last time she had actually used a tampon…

"Whatever. You want to know what my theory is?"

"Not really." Rachel sighed.

"I think he's going to bring some condoms so that you guys can have kinky sex in the dark…"

"Or maybe he's bringing condoms for you and Victor, so _you_ can have kinky sex in the dark."

Jennifer looked in her direction before focusing back on the road, blushing. "Touché."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The two girls arrived at the laser tag arena with twenty minutes to spare. They could go play games in the arcade like they were ten years old again, and they would totally mess around.

Ten minutes later, Rachel spotted Richard's truck pull into the parking lot and he had his wallet in his back pocket. Probably filled with three or four condoms. Rachel snorted, wondering how much time he would think he would actually get with her. He walked into the place and easily spotted her with her purple hair and Jennifer with her light pink hair.

He leaned over the game Rachel was currently playing and smirked. "I have 'em."

"That's nice. You probably have four though."

He still smirked. "Call me optimistic."

"Call you stupid." He leaned down closer to her and whispered in her ear, "If we weren't in such a public place right now, I would take you here and make sure you get a good spanking." He licked the rim of her ear and she gasped. She punched him lightly and pushed him away from her.

"That was a one time thing." Of course, she was referring to the one time where he was actually allowed to spank her.

"Yeah, since you started screaming."

Rachel punched his chest again. "God, shut up."

Somehow, Richard was still smirking. "We could definitely have some fun in the dark." Things were definitely going to get riskier between them.

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A/N: Kind of short and filler. The bigger stuff will happen in the next chapter. I'll even be nice and give you a little sneak peek!"

"**You want to go out with me?" She felt her heart drop from her chest all the way down to her toes and back. The feelings were overwhelming, and she couldn't do anything to stop them. Except one thing. And she couldn't do that to him. Her feelings for him wouldn't let her.**

Reviews would be great.

~klrob


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Next chapter. Don't hate on me for some of the stuff that'll happen…

Just a quick question for people to leave reviews to answer… Should I change the rating to M and make it more… lemon-y? I noticed that there are some sexual innuendos that make this seem more M than I want. If you don't, I'm just warning people that this will be incredibly borderline M, so if that makes you uncomfortable, stop reading, grow a pair, and come back.

**Warning: There is a little gay romance here. There is also a little… Lime content.**

Richard Grayson walked into his high school, feelings incredible. He walked over to Rachel, who was talking to Jennifer by her locker. He made eye contact with her as he made his way over to her, exchanging a quick glance. "Hey."

She smirked at his casual greeting before replying with her own, "Hey."

The two continued staring at each other, daring the other to look away. Jennifer waved a hand in front of Rachel's face, stopping them and drawing the attention towards herself.

"I swear, you guys could be secretly dating from the way you act around each other." Rachel's eyes widened at her friend's blunt comment as she heard Richard start to laugh.

"Sure, Jen. Rachel and I are secretly going out. And we're totally fucking around, too." Rachel punched his arm while glaring at him. She threw it off with a smile. "As if I would ever want to be with you like that."

Richard mock-glared at his lover. "What's wrong with being with me?"

"What isn't?" The trio laughed before Jennifer walked off to her first period. Richard leaned against the lockers. He lowered his voice so that only the two could hear what was being spoken. "There's not really anything wrong, right?"

Rachel shook her head before taking a couple books out of her locker. "Not that I know of." Richard nodded grimly at her once, and then proceeded to take the books out of her hands to hold them for her. Rachel shut her locker and tried to grab the books back from him. He pulled them out of her reach and put a hand on her shoulder to keep her at a distance.

"Give them back, Rich." He stuck his tongue out and she pouted. It was one of her last resorts that she didn't like to use, but she needed her books back.

"It's the gentlemanly thing to carry a lady's books for her."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's also the thing that a _boyfriend_ would do for his _girlfriend._ Last time I checked, we weren't exactly that."

"We're close enough."

"That doesn't matter! Just give them back." He leaned down, his mouth dangerously close to hers.

"What's the magic word?" Rachel's eyes looked over Richard's lips, and he spotted her small pink tongue peeking out of her suddenly dry lips.

He was about to lean down to close the distance between them when Victor and Garfield came over to them. They pulled away with deep blushes on their faces, and Richard silently handed back his lover's books. He cleared his throat once and began talking to the other guys.

"So, Gar. You lost yesterday…" Gar had a bright red blush and everyone started laughing at the younger boy.

"Do I seriously have to?" Everyone nodded. Gar sighed before looking around for the one person. He set his eyes upon the older boy and walked over to him. His three friends watched him pull the man off to the side and ask him something. Everyone knew that Gar had been homosexual since he came out in the beginning of high school. They also knew how he had been crushing on another guy, who happened to also be gay. The three had made a bet the previous day that if Gar were to lose the laser tag war, he would have to ask out the guy, and everyone had ganged up on the poor boy, causing him to lose.

Gar and the other male exchanged a smile before Gar went back over to his friends. They all looked at him expectantly before he gave them a huge smile. "He said sure." Everyone congratulated him and then parted ways to go to their first period classes. Richard and Rachel went off together, having almost every class but one together. Gar went off with Victor since their classes were in the same direction.

It was finally lunch, and Richard left to go do something. Rachel was sitting with Victor, Garfield, Garth, Roy, Jennifer, and a bunch of her other friends at their usual table. The only two people missing were Kori and Richard. Rachel had been hoping that he wasn't doing what she thought he was, but the chances were pretty likely. Everyone knew that Kori had a huge crush on Richard, and thought that it was returned. She stood up, saying she needed to go to the bathroom. She wandered the halls, but it didn't take long for her to find the two. She hid behind a wall, hoping that neither of them had spotted her yet.

"You want to go out with me?" She felt her heart drop from her chest all the way down to her toes and back. The feelings were overwhelming, and she couldn't do anything to stop them. Except one thing. And she couldn't do that to him. Her feelings for him wouldn't let her. She had just found out about it the night before, and was already worried.

She continued to listen in on their conversation, and could hear Kori's squeals. Richard had definitely just asked her out, and of course, Kori had accepted. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut, and took a couple of deep breaths. She stalked away and back in the direction of the lunch room. Rachel made sure to hide the fact that anything was wrong from her friends as they continued to laugh and enjoy each other's company around her. They all walked out to the front of the school building to hang out before their next class would start, and ran into Kori and Richard.

"Hey, y'all. What's going on?"

"Yeah, we missed you at lunch. Are you guys starting some starvation thing?" Gar interjected.

Richard shook his head and smirked towards Kori. Richard was about to say something but Kori beat him to it. "Dick and I are going to be boyfriend and girlfriend!" Everyone went over to congratulate them, and Rachel could feel Richard's eyes boring into her. She refused to look at him, and grabbed Jennifer's arm. She dragged her friend back inside the building. "I'm not feeling well. Can you cover for me next period?"

Jennifer nodded. "Sure. But isn't that normally Dick's job? I mean, he is in almost all of your classes."

"He's just busy right now. I don't want to interrupt him."

Jennifer nodded. "Are you sure that's it?"

Rachel grimaced. "Why does everyone think I like him? I really don't. We're just friends, and it's been the same way since elementary school!"

"Rach-"

Said girl sighed. "Can we just… drop this?"

"Sure." Rachel walked over to her locker, Jennifer trailing behind her. She opened it quickly and grabbed a few of her books out to take home. The two girls failed to notice Jason Todd walking over to them. "Hey Rachel… Jinx."

Jennifer stuck her tongue out at the nickname she had received in elementary school from always being such bad luck. No one ever used it anymore, except Jason Todd. "I'll see you later, Rae. I don't want to ru8in my reputation by being seen around such _trash._" Jennifer walked back outside to where everyone else was.

"So, Rach…" Rachel sighed at Jason's attempt in seducing her. He had been trying for a while now, but refused to do anything with him.

"So, Jason. What do you want now? I'm busy."

He smirked at her. "Are you busy on Saturday?"

"I'm busy for the rest of my life, or at least the next 20 years. Why?"

"Calm down, babe. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go see a movie with me or something."

"Yeah, and choke on your overstretched balls? I don't think so."

Jason's eyebrows furrowed together in anger. "Listen here, bitch-" He was cut short by Richard coming over to talk to Rachel.

"Who's the bitch? Since I know you're not talking about Rachel." Jason walked up to Richard, getting in his face. "And what if I am, Dickie?"

Rachel grabbed Richard's arm and pulled him closer to her. "I'm fine. Just leave him alone."

"No. If he's calling you a bitch-"

"It's fine. I was being a bitch. It doesn't matter. I'm fine." Richard blew out a sigh and glared back at Jason, who had a cocky smile on his face. "Fine."

Richard pushed passed Jason and stormed off to his locker. Rachel saw him grab a couple things out of his locker before walking back over to her. "You ready?"

Rachel cocked her head. "What?"

He looked down at her belongings in her arms. "You're leaving early, right?"

"You're not coming with me."

"Yes, I am."

"No. I'm not feeling well. You're fine. You have practice after school anyways."

"So do you. But you're not staying, are you?"

"Because I'm not feeling well."

"Then neither am I."

"You're fine. I'm going home. You're staying here. End of story. Got it?"

Richard glared at his friend. "No. If you're sick-"

"Then I can go home. My mom is a nurse, so she'll have everything I need at our own house."

"Bruce is rich. He'll have everything too."

"Don't you have to stay with your _girlfriend?"_ Richard winced at the jab.

"I have to go."

"Fine. But we're talking after school. I'm coming over." Rachel nodded before walking out of the school.

**Alone Together ~ Alone Together ~ Alone Together~ Alone Together**

Rachel sat with her laptop, typing up the Psychology paper she had due in a couple days. She was expecting Richard in a couple minutes, since his date with Kori should've been over by now. She glared at the computer screen and saved it. She pulled on a sweatshirt that Richard had left there earlier in the week, and turned on the TV. She jumped back into bed and skimmed through the channels. She was still looking through a couple when she heard a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in." Richard walked in and closed it behind him. He saw Rachel lying on her bed and sat near the bottom. "Hey."

"Where have you been?"

"Calm down, Mom. I was just out with Kori. I told you that."

"Well, sorry for wondering where you were. Almost as if it was a crime, asshole." Richard sighed.

"Rae, we need to talk."

"Are you breaking up with me now?"

"Why would you think that?"

"That's the classic break up line. 'We need to talk.'"

"No, I'm not-"

"Seriously. That's what all guys say if they're breaking up with someone."

"Rae-"

"So are you?"

Richard crushed his lips against Rachel's to shut her up. She quickly fell into his kiss and pressed her lips against his. He licked her bottom lip and she opened her mouth. Their tongues fought against each other as Richard's hand traced up Rachel's side, and stopped on her breast. He didn't do anything for a couple moments, but he pulled away from their kiss. He trailed kisses down her jaw and neck, meeting her tank top. He moved to pull off her tank top, and she allowed him.

She put her hands on his shoulders and trailed them down over his hard chest, down to his abs. He moaned into her mouth, and he ran a thumb over one of her nipples. She moaned into his mouth and reached to undo his shirt. He quickly threw it off and reached back for her mouth. Their tongues met again and he moaned. "Kori…"

Rachel pushed Richard away. She sat away from him, panting. "What?"

Rachel looked at him, eyes wide and almost glaring at him. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Yeah. What the hell is up with you?"

"Did you not just hear yourself? You specifically said 'Kori.' Not Rachel, but Kori. Last time I checked, I wasn't Kori."

"Fuck." Richard stood up and grabbed his shirt. "Rae, I'm so sorry."

Rachel pulled her blankets up to cover herself from him. "Get out."

"Rae-"

"Get out!" Richard winced and ran his fingers through his hair. He walked over to the door, but paused before opening it. "Rachel."

"What?" Her eyes were shut, and Rachel was trying to not cry. Not in front of him, at least.

"The thing I wanted to talk about earlier…"

She raised her eyes to look at him. She had no expression, which he recognized as the face she used when she felt abused or hurt. It was the same face she used when she was in elementary school, when her father still lived with them. When he was hurting her. He always hated that look, and had worked most of his life to keep it off of her face. It killed Richard inside to know that he was the one who put it there this time.

He looked down before glancing back up at her. "I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "It's wrong of us to be sleeping together while I'm with Kori."

"Then what was that? One last fuck?"

"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just don't think its right."

"Fine." He sighed and walked out of her bedroom. Rachel took a couple of seconds to swallow down her sobs, and grabbed her shirt off the floor. She put it on before hugging her knees to her chest. Rachel sat for a while, watching the TV with empty eyes. She grabbed her laptop and quickly looked up something. She spent half the night looking through websites, but finally found the right one.

There was a school in England that was for pregnant teenagers that wanted to finish their education. It would provide a nanny service that is completely trustworthy, and she could take days off for her child. Rachel had wanted to go to Yale, but she knew she couldn't if she had a baby to take care of. She refused to consider abortion, and had heard about these types of colleges from one of her friends. This one she found in England had many alumni that she saw were successful, and was going to send her application in.

Rachel wasn't planning on ruining Richard's happy life with a baby.

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A/N: Kinda angsty near the end. Sorry for the… borderline M stuff though. But I did warn you!

Reviews make me sleep better at night.

~klrob


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for such a long wait. I've been pretty busy.

I just want to dedicate this chapter to **callmechristina** because she really likes my story. I mean… she also kind of begged me for a new chapter too, and… yeah.

****I'm going to try and experiment with some different styles, so tell me if you love it, hate it, whatever.****

**Chapter 4**

"_What do you mean, you left?"_

"Calm down, Jen. I'm just in England now."

"_Um, isn't that a little far away?"_

"No, Jen. It's an airplane ride away. You can come visit me in the summer after you do that camp."

"_You were supposed to do that road trip with me! We were going to convince our parents to let us do it, and then you were going to bring Dick, and I was going to bring Vic!"_

"…Don't you find it kind of weird how their nicknames rhyme?"

"_Rachel! Stop changing the subject!"_

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, it's just… I needed to get away."

"_For over four YEARS? Do you know how pissed off Dick will be when he finds out?"_

"I really don't care anymore. It's nice here. I have a decent sized room-"

"_Weren't you going to Yale or whatever though?"_

"I can't. Not anymore."

"_WHY?"_

"I… I don't think I'll be able to afford tuition, and pay for this-"

"_This what?"_

"I was about to tell you, if you wouldn't interrupt me!"

"_Sorry! Pay for what?"_

"…Do we really have to talk about this?"  
_"Um, yeah! Obviously, it's something big! So what is it? C'mon, Rachel. I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything."_

"Jinx-"  
_"NO! Do not 'Jinx' me. I want to know, and I want to know now."_

"I don't know how to say it-"

"_Then just come out with it."_

"It'll make everything so awkward."

"_Honey, I was there when you put in a tampon that one time. I don't thin kit can get any more awkward than that."_

"That was disgusting."

"_I seriously didn't mind though!"_

"Just shut up and let me tell you."

"…"

"…I kind of maybe possibly found out that I might maybe just about be… uh, pregnant?"

"…_What?"_

"God, Jen. You heard me."

"_I don't think I could have! I think you just said you were pregnant, but you haven't been fucking anyone-"  
_"If only that was the case."

"_Who have you been fucking?"_

"You know."

"_There are only two people that come to mind. And one of them you absolutely despise. The other one, you continuously deny, but-"_

"That's the one."

"_No."_

"Yes."

"_You've been fucking… DICK?"_

"Very good, Jinx. I HAVE been fucking a guy."

"_No, I mean Grayson. You've been fucking that douche?"_

"He's not a douche…"

"_He got you pregnant. That officially makes him a douche in my book."_

"He doesn't know, okay? I didn't want to tell him about it."

"_Why not? He needs to pick up some of the slack that he caused!"_

"He's with Kori. He and I were… making out the other day, and he said her name accidentally. Obviously, he has feelings for her. He broke it off right before I left."

"_That slut?"_

"Yeah. Don't do anything to him, I really don't mind anymore. He likes her. I'm happy for them."

"_But you two have a kid together. One kid from you kind of makes you more important than his latest… conquest."_

"Jinx, just… Don't say anything to him. Just treat him like you normally would, okay? Don't tell him anything about where I am, how I am, nothing."

"_What am I supposed to tell him then?"_

"Just tell him I moved or something."

"_Like there aren't any problems with THAT. Why didn't your mom move with you? Where did you move to? Do you have a new phone number? Am I allowed to give him the new phone number? What about email?"_

"Away. Yes. No. Yes. Just give him my email address. I'll spam it or whatever."

"…_I'm kind of proud of you, bitch."_

"Shut up. I have to go. Time to go visit my classes."

"_Bye. Talk to you INCREDIBLY SOON."_

"Okay, bye."

Rachel hung up her cell phone, and sighed. She looked around her new dorm room, finding it to be as spacious as her old bedroom back in the US was. Rachel didn't really want to be here, but she needed to be. This was the only way she could get an education while being pregnant. There was a knock at the door, and a short, red-haired woman walked in.

"'Ello. Name's Toni. You must be… Rachel?" Said girl nodded.

"I'll be your nanny, nurse, whatever."

"Aren't you a little young to be a nurse?"  
"Not that you need to know, but I'm kind of 21. Aren't _you_ a little young to be pregnant?"

"Touché."

"Thank you. I have a feeling we'll be very close."

_From: Dick_

_To: Rachel_

_ Hey, I heard you moved? So, uh, how've you been? Listen, if you moved because of me and what I said before, I'm really sorry. I just need to be faithful to Kori. I really like her, and I don't want to hurt her if she finds out that we've been sleeping together. Call me or something, okay?"_

_~Rich_

_From: Jinx_

_To: Rachel_

_ So I've heard that Dickwad emailed you the other day. He was kind of pissed that you haven't replied back yet. You gonna tell him about the baby? How is the little guy? Or girl… Def send over some pics or whatever. I would love to see him/her. SONOGRAM PICS, OF COURSE! Unless you already had the baby? How long have you and Dickwad even been sleeping together?_

_~Love ya, Jen-jen_

_From: Rachel_

_To: Jinx_

_ Yeah, he has. Not like I'm gong to reply. He was just being his usual dick self. And good! I'm glad that he is! He kind of deserves it… No. Fine. The baby's only, like, 6 months old, Jinx. It's not like I would've popped him/her out already. But I can send you some pictures of the sonogram. He/She's so cute… And as far as we know, really healthy. I saw ten little fingers. It was so cute, you would've loved it. Dick and I have only been sleeping together since junior year, I think? I don't know anymore…_

_~R_

_~Attached: _

_**From: **__Dick_

_**To: **__Rachel_

_ Hey. You haven't responded to any of my other emails, so maybe you just missed it? I'm not sure how the whole time change thing works either, so maybe that messed things up too. How have you been? Hope school's going well for you. Come back soon. Everyone misses you._

_~Rich_

_**From: **__Rachel_

_**To: **__Dick_

_ Sorry. I've been busy._

_~Rachel_

_**From: **__Jinx_

_**To: **__Rachel_

_ Rae… You need to come back. Immediately. There's been an accident. Call me. Email me. Something, please. You need to come back, just for a little while at least. Your mom… she's gone. I'm so sorry. Your grandma, Azar, is here, and she really misses you. Please, you need to come back. Bring your son, and we can talk later. You just need to come back._

_~I love you, Jinx_

Rachel glanced over at her son's sleeping face. Five years had passed since she came back, and now she was back again for her mother's funeral. There had been a car accident when her mother was coming back home, and now her grandmother was here. She and her grandma, Azar, were incredibly close to each other when they were younger. Her mom hadn't been able to care for her very much because she was working and so Azar had moved in with them and taken over the job.

Rachel didn't want to bring her son, Jack, back here with everything so messed up. Especially with the chance that she and Jack might see Richard. She didn't even want to think about his reaction. It would be kind of hard to figure out that Jack was Richard's son, since Jack took more after Rachel's side. He had her amethyst eyes, and her horrible hair. Not many people knew what her natural hair color was, and she was glad that it was like that. Her hair was still dyed purple, but she couldn't hide her natural hair color on her son. Of course, it was this horrible white-blonde. She hated it so much.

Rachel shook her thoughts out of her head, and drove into her old driveway. Azar was standing outside on the porch, waiting for her. Rachel smiled softly to herself and waved. She turned around to her sleeping son and rubbed his blonde hair. "Hey, sweetie."

Jack groaned and Rachel smiled. She unbuckled herself, and got out to unbuckle Jack. She opened the door and pulled him out, and he rested his head on her shoulder. Rachel walked up to the porch, leaving their suitcases in the car. "Hi, Azar."

"This must be the boy I've heard so much about."

"Yeah, this is Jack." Rachel nudged him a little and he turned away. "Mommy, stop…"

Rachel smirked. "It was a really long ride. He's probably just really tired." Azar nodded as if she understood and stepped aside for Rachel to enter the house. The purple haired woman walked up the stairs and opened the door to her old room. The bed was stripped bare of all the sheets, and Rachel put Jack down in a chair she had left here. Jack instantly curled up inside while his mother went to find some sheets for the bed.

Rachel quickly put the sheets on the bed and picked Jack back up. He didn't make any noise this time, and Rachel tucked him into the bed. She kissed his forehead, and walked back downstairs to her waiting grandmother.

"How are you?"

"Better than you probably are."

"She was just as much to me as she was to you."

"But you still miss her, don't you?" Rachel nodded, and Azar led her into the kitchen. "You want some tea?"

"Sure. Chamomille, please."

Rachel took the time that her grandmother was using to make her tea and looked around the house. She hadn't been there in over five years, but not much had changed. Arella wasn't home enough to make anything change. Arella had taken a few days off to go visit Rachel and Jack in England after she had given birth. Arella and her had talked a couple times a week aside from that, which was about all they had of contact.

"Grandma, is it okay if one of my friends from England stayed with us? She's Jack's nanny, in a way."

"In a way? What is that supposed to mean?"

"She's more of my best friend than Jack's nanny. It's just her job while I go to classes."

"It's fine. Should I make up the spare bedroom?"

"That would be good. She's coming probably in the next couple days. She had a few things to take care of back in England."

Azar nodded. "Jennifer has been asking about you. She comes around for dinner a few times. She's like my second granddaughter."

"She wishes she could have someone as cool as you." Both women laughed, and Azar went to go get the tea ready. The doorbell rang, and Rachel walked to the door. She bundled her sweater closer to her, and shivered. She had forgotten how cold it was compared to England, which was saying a lot. She looked through the door and smiled.

"Jen!"

"RACHEL!" Jennifer jumped in through the doorway and hugged her friend. "Oh my gosh! How have you been? You look so skinny for having a kid a couple years ago! Where is the little guy?"  
"Slow down, Jen. Um, fine, thanks, and he's upstairs asleep."

"Aww. I can't wait to meet him. From how you described him, he sounds so adorable!"

"Yeah, he is. I love him so much."

"I bet I will too then. Anyways, I'm so sorry about your mom and everything. How have you been?"

"Fine. I miss her, but… I didn't really hang around her long enough to actually miss her. Jack barely knew her, but he was excited to come to a new place."

"I bet." Jennifer looked around the place and smiled. "It really hasn't changed around here, has it?"

"Nope."

"Like you never left." Both girls hugged each other one more time, but pulled away as they heard a tiny voice from the top of the stairs. "Mommy?"

Rachel walked up the stairs quickly and picked up her son. "Hi, sweetie. How was your nap?"

Jack made a grunt, and Rachel smiled. "Do you want to meet one of mommy's friends?" Jack nodded and rubbed his eyes in only the way a 5-year-old could.

"This is Jennifer. You can call her Jinx."

"Hello, Jinx." Jennifer bent down to eye level with the little boy. "Hi, Jack. I've heard so much about you!"

Jack pushed on his mother's chest, signaling he wanted to be put down. Rachel complied and watched as Jack dragged Jennifer back upstairs to play in her room.

Rachel smiled at the two and looked back at the door as the doorbell rang. "I got it!"

Rachel walked back over to the door and opened it. Flowers were hiding the holder's face, but Rachel recognized his voice.

"Richard."

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A/N: And that's about it… I would love to say I'm on a tiny break for the next two weeks or so, but I doubt there are some people who would let me.

Reviews are lovely with my virtual flowers.

~klrob


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I kind of am back now. And I would very much so appreciate it if no one tries to kill me for leaving after such a long time. There has been a LOT of shit going on in my life lately, so I'm lucky to even be able to get some time off. But please, enjoy the following chapter!

Thanks to **RxRFannnnn, krazieneko, crazynerd, teresa, Latezz123, TheDreamChaser, Emerald, mageblood, callmechristina, heartless16, wolfhead, MysteryGirl2401, DarkGirlRavenGrayson, Katherine, Gingerstorm101, Doidazzleu11, blue-wasabi, Scarlet Phoenix Roth, teresa (again…?), titangrace, Earlie Birdie, Waterfairy delilah, RaeRoballtheway, Smiler, castlegirl22, and xxravenwingsxx **for reviewing!

**blue-wasabi: **I'm sorry to say, but Jack isn't really based on Jack-Jack. I just really like the name Jack. But my other choice was actually going to be Spencer, and then his little bird name (his parents both have one, why not him?) would have been Sparrow or something. But I think I love the name Jack too much.

**heartless16: **I realize my first chapter or two or three focused a lot on sex, but remember, this story was based off of their sexual relationship. So I'm sorry if it had too much sex in it. The sex was incredibly important though, considering they have a kid together now… But now, since there is a LOT of tension between them, I definitely will be focusing more on emotions and stuff. As for the high school background stuff you mentioned, I only planned on having them in high school for about three chapters, so I didn't want to focus too much on high school.

**Latezz123: **Don't worry, the "new style" was only supposed to be used that one chapter to show the time transition but still give readers some information on what was currently going on, along with showing the tension between Rachel and Richard. As for the paragraphing issue, I think it would've been much more helpful to leave the ranting paragraph in since I have no idea what you're talking about. For the flowers thing… he doesn't realize that she had been staying there. They had literally just arrived, and had happened to show up with some flowers to give to Azar. But keep in mind, he also is pretty dense… I guess I should explain the white-blonde hair too. I chose white-blonde because it's the color no one would guess Rachel would have. She would also hate it, and want to dye it some other color, hence the purple hair. And for the last thing of recognizing his voice, I kind of messed up on that part, and decided to go back in this chapter to re-do it. So please, ignore that part because it didn't make complete sense.

Enjoy the chapter! Please leave a review at the end!

**Chapter 5**

Rachel watched as her five-year-old son dragged her old best friend back up the stairs to show Jennifer all of the toys he had. The doorbell rang as she was about to climb up the stairs after them, and called to her grandmother, "I'll get it!"

Rachel walked to the front door and was instantly met with a face full of flowers. She took a step back from the overpowering scent of the assortment and glanced at the man holding them. The flowers cut off his face, but the rest of his body was visible. Rachel could hardly recognize the man standing before her, but once she saw his cuff links, she knew. They were the exact same pair he had in his desk constantly from his father before he had died.

"Richard."

The flowers moved down to uncover his face, revealing his stern mouth and expensive sunglasses. Rachel saw his eyebrows move just above the rim of the glasses, confirming her suspicions. "Rae."

Richard had moved to remove his sunglasses, but Rachel didn't want to have to stare into his eyes that haunted her dreams since the moment they had broken up. She grabbed at the flowers and mumbled a quick "Thank you," before attempting to slam the door in his face. His hand had stopped the door from completely closing on him. Richard pushed the door open completely and stared at Rachel. "You're seriously going to slam the door in your best friend's face?"

They stared at each other for a couple moments before Rachel finally responded. "Yes." With that, she slammed the door with her foot and moved to lock it. She rolled her eyes in anger and walked down the long hallway to the kitchen. Richard knocked a few times and waited, Rachel feeling almost all of his impatience through the door. The knocking continued, pausing for short intervals. Azar came shuffling down the hallway toward the front door before Rachel stopped her. "Don't. Leave it."

Azar looked toward her granddaughter and saw the anger in her eyes. She pulled away from the door towards the flowers Rachel was holding in her hands still. "What beautiful flowers." Rachel silently handed her the bouquet before running a hand through her medium length hair and giving a long sigh.

Azar stared at her for a long moment, watching Rachel glance around as if she was thinking of something of deep importance. Azar put a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder, and quietly asked if she was alright.

"I could be better. Thanks." Azar gave Rachel a quick hug before moving off to put the flowers in a vase of water. Rachel watched after her for a few seconds before walking to go up the stairs towards Jennifer and Jack. She climbed them two at a time before reaching her old bedroom door, cracked slightly open. She could hear her son giggling at some Jennifer had done in their game of cars. Rachel smiled to herself as she pushed open the door, revealing Jack building a large tower out of legos and Jennifer driving a car around. Jennifer looked at Rachel and gave her respective greeting; Jack was still completely focused on building the tower at least half as tall as he was. Jennifer poked him in the leg and he looked up at her, before finding his mother with his eyes. "Mommy!"

Jack ran towards her and gave her a hug. "How are you and Jennifer doing?" Jack gave her a cute pout. "She doesn't know how to build lego towers right." Rachel laughed and looked towards her friend, who simply shrugged her shoulders. Jack grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her toward the tower he was building.

"You need to show Jenn-if-er how to build one right." Rachel smiled at her son and rolled her eyes at Jennifer.

The three started building a very small city out of legos and were driving around Jack's matchbox cars when Azar had lightly knocked on the door and poked her head in.

"Rachel, there's someone on the phone for you." Rachel got up from her kneeling stance and walked outside of the room to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, Rachel."_

Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head. Obviously, Richard couldn't take the hint that she didn't want to talk to him. "What?"

_"I was just calling to see how you were doing."_

"Fine." Rachel's confusion was laced into her words, wondering why Richard was calling her to see how she was.

_"I mean, your mother did just, uh, pass away…" _Rachel had practically forgotten about her mother. She hadn't spent the most time with her, but she almost couldn't believe she had forgotten that her mother had died a little over a week ago.

"Yeah, what about it?"

_"Nothing. I was just calling… Anyways, do you want to go out to lunch with me, get to catch up?"_

"Not really, no."

_"Rach… C'mon, we haven't seen each other in, what? Five years? I'm sure something interesting has happened in your life since then."_

_ Yeah, a baby. _"My answer is still no."

She heard Richard's deep sigh on the other side of the phone. _"Well, that's too bad. Because tomorrow, we are going to lunch together at the little diner on the corner of Light and Printon?"_

"I don't remember saying that I'll go with you."

_"Well, I happen to remember that force works best with you when you refuse to do something."_

"You mean… like rape?" Rachel smirked into the phone, knowing what he meant but not showing she did.

_"What? No, I mean… No! You know very well that what we did was never rape."_

"How do you know? Maybe after the first time I hated every second of it. Maybe I was trying to forget everything that was happening instead of-"

_"Please. You and I both know that it wasn't rape."_

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

_"So I'll see you tomorrow then?"_

"Oh yeah, no."

_"Why not then?"_

"I'm busy."

_"Spending time with Jen doesn't count as busy."_

"Well, maybe I wasn't hanging out with her tomorrow."

_"Then what?"_

"If you must know, I was going with Azar to finalize plans for my mother's funeral. So. Unless you want to have lunch on my dead mother's coffin…"

_"No, no, that's fine. How about Friday then?"_

"And you say I have to?"

_"…Yes."_

"Fine then. Friday."

_"See you then! Oh, but…"_

Rachel was quickly becoming impatient with Richard now. "But what?"

_"If you don't mind my asking… When is your mother's funeral?"_

"Wednesday."

_"Do you mind if I come?"_

"You didn't even talk to my mother that often."

_"Is that a yes?"_

"Yeah, whatever. It's in Lyndon Church."

_"I guess I'll see you Wednesday then."_

"Yeah. That all?"

_"For now. See you."_

Rachel hung up the phone after their almost tedious conversation. Rachel went back downstairs to give the phone back to her grandmother.

"Was that Richard?" Rachel nodded. "He's such a nice boy."

"I guess. Do you need help making dinner?" Azar glanced at her granddaughter with a question evident on her face.

"You cook?"

"I kind of have to with a child." Azar gave Rachel a smile.

"Sure. I guess you finally realized how hard motherhood is on a person."

"It's okay. It's definitely worth it." Azar smiled at Rachel's back when she bent down to gather some vegetables in her arms.

"You're making spaghetti, right?" Azar nodded. "Good. That's one of the best things I can make."  
"That's probably because it's one of the first things someone learns to make." Rachel and Azar spent around an hour making everything from scratch, save the pasta. Around 6:30, Jennifer and Jack came down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Hi momma!" Rachel smiled back at her son and put the spoon down. The pasta sauce was left to simmer as the garlic bread sat in the oven and pasta was put in the boiling water. She gave him a little hug and stood back up.

"Can I have some milk?"

"Sure."

Rachel walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the gallon of milk. Rachel walked back to the cabinets and pulled out a small, plastic cup from the time she went to Chuck E. Cheese with Richard years ago. She poured some milk into it and gave it to Jack. "Thank you!"

Jack carefully walked over to the dining room table and pulled himself up onto one of the chairs around it to sip his milk. Jennifer and Azar both looked at her.

"Is he not allowed to drink anything in the living room? He can come sit in the chair and drink it." Rachel shook her head at Jennifer.

"He's not supposed to have any food or drinks in the living room unless his nanny, Toni, or I say so."

"He has a nanny?" Even though Rachel wasn't really looking at Jennifer as she asked the question, she can imagine her mouth wide open in shock.

"In the college I went to, it was only for teenage moms, so they gave each girl a nanny. Toni's only like 5 years older than I am, but she looks so much younger. She basically watched Jack while I went to classes and to get a break. She's still his nanny though; she lives with us in our townhouse. I think she said she would be arriving tomorrow…"

"I think it will be nice to finally meet her." Rachel nodded at Azar and turned back to the cooking. Jack came back in after ten minutes of sitting at the dining room table alone. "Here ya go!"

"Thank you. Do you think you can set the table for mommy?" Jack nodded and grabbed the plates from Rachel's hands. Rachel could see him struggle to carry the plates over by himself. "Do you want any help?"

"No! I'm a big boy! I can do it all by myself."

"Okay."

As the table was being set, Jennifer and Azar had come into the kitchen to help finish the dinner up faster. They all finally were able to eat after a long time of waiting, and ate the delicious food. After eating dessert with the family, Jennifer said her good-byes and left to go back to her apartment.

~(oOo)~

Rachel felt as if Tuesday had sped by. Azar, Rachel, and Jack had all gone to the church and cemetery to make sure everything would be ready for the funeral the next day. The church was completely set up by the time they left that day, around 6. Rachel had driven Azar back to the house in her rental car and then left with Jack jumping around in the backseat to pick up Toni. By the time Toni was settled, Jack was fed and tucked in, and Azar was sent up to bed, Rachel herself was sent to bed by Toni.

Wednesday came by faster than she could ever imagine. Rachel felt as if she had gotten an hour of sleep after tossing and turning. She dragged herself out of bed and got dressed in a simple black, sleeveless dress. She pulled a cardigan over her shoulders and walked to Jack's room. She woke him up gently, got him dressed, and went down the stairs. Rachel could feel herself going through the motions, and realized that she was truly mourning her mother now. Azar, Toni, Jack, and her finally were able to leave the house after everyone ate breakfast, got dressed in their respectable clothing, and piled into the rental car. Rachel drove to the church and Toni got everyone out so she was able to park the car. Rachel walked inside and gave Toni her purse.

"I'll sit here with Jack so you can go do your daughterly thing, ok?"

"Thanks, Ton."

Rachel walked into the lobby of the church and stood next to her grandmother as the people began to arrive. Jack ran up to her after she met with a few people to stand with her. "What happened to Toni?"

"Toni said I gotta be really nice to you today cause you aren't feelin' well, so I asked her if I could give you a BIG hug." Rachel smiled at him and bent down, and Jack jumped into her arms to give her a giant bear hug.

"Well, thank you, Jack." He gave her a goofy smile and stood next to her, holding Rachel's hand as people continuously began coming in. Rachel could recognize some of the doctors and nurses her mother had worked with before, along with some of the neighbors. Rachel shook so many hands and was seriously considering just going to the seats Toni had for them. A grip stronger, yet more gentle than the rest of the viewers caught her attention and she looked up. Rachel stared straight into Richard's blue eyes that were widened with indefinite shock. He was glancing between her and Jack, while trying to focus his attention on her, but failing. His eyes demanded an explanation and Rachel was at a loss for words. Richard tried to get something out, but Rachel practically pushed him down to her grandmother and moved to a new person.

Rachel felt Richard standing there, waiting for her, and Rachel desperately tried to make each person's handshake and words of rememberance last longer. Rachel felt Richard's eyes burning into her, and she never realized that every time she read about the burning sensation, it was completely true. She turned to glance at him, and saw the wheels turning in his head. She had hoped he was dense enough not to figure out the connection between Jack and him, but her hopes were useless. Everyone was called into the room where her mother's corpse lay, and she began walking toward it, Jack's hand still in hers. Richard had swooped beside her, where Jack was not, and put his hand on the small of her back.

She suddenly could remember him putting his hand in the exact same place it was now whenever they would be… His words dragged her out of her reverie.

"We need to talk."

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I will be trying to update SOON.

~klrob


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Two updates in one day! I am on a roll.

Thank you (insert anyone who reviewed chapter 5) for reviewing! Although this time, I definitely want more.

**Chapter 6**

"We need to talk."

Rachel shut her eyes at the words she had been dreading. She felt Jack squeeze her hand and ask her if she was okay. She forced a smile on her face and turned to her son.

"I'm fine, sweetie. Why don't you go find Jennifer and Toni and sit with them?" Jack nodded and released her hand.

Richard's hand guided her outside into a hallway. Rachel leaned against a wall and Richard put his hands around her head. She could tell he was struggling to keep his thoughts and attitude in check.

Richard finally looked up and glared at her. "How old is he?"

Rachel blinked once. Twice. "What?" She imperceptibly winced at how stupid she sounded.

Richard banged one hand on the wall and curled it into a fist. "Damn it, Rachel, how old is he?"

Rachel shut her eyes and mumbled out, "Five."

They stood in an awkward silence together before Richard responded, "So he's mine?"

Rachel shoved Richard away from her. "What the hell do you think? I'm not some whore, you dick! Of course he's yours! I'm surprised you put the pieces together this fast considering it probably took you months to realize I had left with him!"

"I was busy-"

"Yeah, fucking Kori! I know!"

"Damn it, Rachel, you can't blame this all on me! You're the one who left and you're the one who never told anyone about him! What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"Come after me." Rachel turned on her heel and walked back into the hall. She quickly found Jack, Toni, and Jennifer and sat down with them. Toni pulled her over quietly.

"What happened out there?"

"Dick is just being dick." Toni seemed to accept this answer and let it go. Richard didn't come back into the hall after their confrontation, and Rachel could only hope that he left.

The ceremony went by much too fast. Or maybe it was because Rachel could only think about her fight with Richard. Either way, she found herself putting one of her mother's favorite flowers- a petunia- onto her coffin and watching the workers seal Arella into the ground forever.

Rachel and Jack kneeled together at her grave before Toni came over and gently told her it was time to go. Rachel picked up Jack and prepared to head back to the car when Toni stopped her. Jack was taken from her arms, and she threw a questioning glance to Toni when she spotted Richard leaning against his car, as suave as ever. Rachel shook her head at Toni, but she was shoved towards the father of her only son.

Richard, being the gentleman, opened the car door for her, and Rachel could only get in. They drove in silence until they arrived at a small café they used to go to when they were teenagers. The two entered and sat at one booth. Rachel quietly ordered some coffee cake and a cup of herbal tea, while Richard asked for a small salad. They sat in silence, waiting for their food to arrive before anyone broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Rachel looked up from the table that just seemed so interesting. "Did I have to?"

Richard stared at her. "Kind of!"

"I didn't have to tell you anything. You wanted to be with Kori, so I left. I didn't want to ruin your perfect moments you could be able to have with her."

"My relationship with Kori lasted four months. You were my best friend for over _ten years._ Do you really think I would care about Kori more than you?"

Rachel scoffed. "You can't honestly tell me that 'Dori' only lasted four months. I watch the news, Richard. I know you two have been seeing each other off and on for years now."

Richard ran his fingers through his hair. "So? I see her a couple times a year. She's the one who decided to become a model. It's not my fault that our relationship isn't even considered one."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's not _my_ fault that you chose Kori over me. End of story."

"No, no, no, no. Newly released sequel. I didn't know you were pregnant back then. I wouldn't have chosen Kori if I had known."

"So, you would have stayed with me out of obligation and I would be your second choice. That _certainly_ makes me feel great about myself." Rachel and Richard glared at each other, but were interrupted by the waiter bringing their food. They ate in silence, both thinking of what happened all those years ago.

Both finished and Richard paid for both of their meals. Rachel didn't dare argue with him because she knew firsthand how hard it was to raise a child, so she took the handout.

"Are we finished here?" Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"No, we aren't! Is that really the only reason you didn't tell me about our son? Because of Kori?"

"You wanted her. You told me that night. You moaned for _Kori_ and my name was still Rachel. It's always been Rachel." She couldn't stand to look at the man she used to consider her best friend anymore.

"Rae… I didn't mean to. You know I didn't mean to."

Rachel's glare came back at him, full force. "Really? Obviously I knew that, since I left for England with out son without telling you."

Richard rubbed the back of his neck. "So, maybe I should have explained a bit better."

"Did you honestly not even notice?"

Richard cocked his head at her. "Notice what?"

Rachel shook her head and began wiping her eyes furiously. She tried to stop the tears from coming, and couldn't stand to let him see her cry. "Just take me home, Richard."

She could hear him sigh, and she stood up quickly. She grabbed her jacket and walked quickly out of the restaurant, anywhere to get away from him. Rachel began to walk, but she didn't know exactly where she was going. She hasn't been back here in years…

Richard was running behind her. He knew that if he lost her again, this would be the last time he ever saw her or his son. Richard caught up to Rachel in a matter of seconds, and turned her toward him. His arms enveloped her into a hug, and Rachel broke down completely. He used his thumbs to wipe the tears from her eyes, which slowly met his. Richard watched her eyes fall to his lips and his fell to hers. They slowly met in a passionate embrace, softly, as if remembering what used to happen, what should have happened. Rachel pulled away and stared at him, Richard's hands now holding her face.

Rachel swallowed hard, waiting for him to say something, or better yet, do something. Richard pulled away from her gaze and saw a newer hotel built recently a couple of blocks away. Rachel saw where he was looking and nodded at him. They shared a smile until Rachel grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the hotel. Richard willingly followed her, and they entered the beautiful atmosphere.

Rachel could tell she was about to make a huge mistake, something she might regret tomorrow, but right now, she could care less about reality.

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A/N: I'll try and update soon!

~klrob


	7. Chapter 7

**This is long overdue. I hope you enjoy!**

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Rachel raced out of the hotel, foxing her hair carefully and adjusting anything that needed adjusting. The doorman shot her a sympathetic smile and she wanted to punch herself. Rachel was officially _that whore_ who has slept with her high school something and was a teen mom. She wanted to kill herself.

She managed to hail a taxi in the godforsaken city and jumped in. Rachel was almost sure she had heard someone yelling after her. And there was only one person who would yell after her at five forty-three in the morning.

Rachel had managed to shake off that feeling and silently willed the taxi to go faster. The traffic was ridiculous, but this early in the morning? Rachel wanted to punch herself. Repeatedly. In the face.

It took almost 20 minutes, but she finally made it home. She half-expected Toni to be waiting up at the door, but found no one. She heard some shuffling upstairs, and groaned to herself. She hadn't made it home before Jack woke up, like clockwork, at six. She was going to be answering some difficult questions from Toni…

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It was almost 9. It took two and a half hours to get Toni off her case. That's not including the half hour it took to get Jack ready with her following close behind. Rachel was ready to castrate a certain billionaire for doing this to her again. But she couldn't blame Dick. She was as much at fault as he was.

Jack wanted pancakes with those "blubberies," which neither Rachel or Toni could make. Rachel was ready to punch someone in the face. This morning was just not going in her favor. The diner she wanted to go to had gone out of business and transformed into a bank or something, so they needed to find a new place to eat blubbery pancakes.

The three went to Shannon's, where Jennifer was eating with her latest boyfriend. Jennifer had invited herself into the group, which caused her to explain once again the situation with Dick.

Speaking of Richard Grayson…

He was there. Sitting across the small diner. Staring at Rachel. He refused to stop looking at her, but if he did, it was to look at Jack. Rachel wanted to swear furiously or run away or _something,_ but that just wasn't possible for her.

She excused herself to go to the bathroom, but Richard caught her right before she could get in. Meaning she had to talk to him.

He rubbed his hands casually down the front of his slacks, catching Rachel's attention. "What happened to you this morning?"

"I left," she said bluntly. "Look, I need to pee, so can I-"

"No. You left. This morning. At 5:30. You didn't bother trying to wake me up or anything."

"Yeah. You caught me. Can I pee now?"

"No, Rachel. You tried to sneak out of my hotel room like some one-night stand. You and I both know it was so much more than a one-night stand."

Rachel sighed. He obviously wasn't going to make this easy for her. "Why couldn't it be a one-night stand? I'm fine with being a whore."

Richard grabbed her arm roughly, making her gasp out in surprise. "You are **not** a whore. Don't ever say that again."

"Okay, fine. Can we just not talk about it? I need to pee, and Toni and Jen are probably trying to figure out what's going on over here. So please can you just let go of me?"

Richard released her arm without a word before staggering back to his table, looking like he had just seen a ghost. At least, that's what Rachel made herself believe. She refused to think she had actually hurt him or anything. She burst into the bathroom and leaned against the small sink. She took several deep breaths before turning on the faucet. She splashed her face and waiting a couple more minutes before deciding she was ready to go back out and face… everyone.

Rachel was literally three feet away from her table when Dick intercepted her.

"If you ever need anything, and I mean **anything. **Money, clothes, a place to stay, whatever… Just call me. Please." He slipped something into her hand before walking out.

Rachel sighed again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. She glanced at the piece of paper in her hand. Ten digits. His phone number. Rachel hoped she would never have to use it.

* * *

The next two weeks seemed to never give her a break. Rachel, Toni, and Jack had ended up staying in Jump for much longer than expected. No one would let her leave. Dick was still next door, tempting her.

Rachel had been gardening when Dick came up to her. He knelt down next to her. With his tight shirt on, running shorts, covered in sweat…

"You doing okay?"

Rachel nodded, eager to get rid of him. "Yeah, fine."

"You need any help with this?"

Rachel risked a glance at him. "You want to help me with gardening?"

Dick shrugged. "Why not? I mean, you don't like gardening."

Rachel scowled in at herself. "Whatever."

She continued to attack the innocent flowers with the rake? Hoe? Whatever it was called, it was killing several flowers. Richard put his hand on top of hers, stopping her movements. She glanced up into his blue blue eyes. Her first mistake.

He leaned down and kissed her softly, tenderly. Hearing Jack call out for Rachel, Dick pulled away slowly, watching Rachel's eyes flutter open and chase after him.

"I mean it. If you ever need anything."

He stood up and jogged back down the patch in between their houses.

Rachel's head cleared up when he was finally out of her sight. Damn! She needed to be more careful with this. With Richard. She couldn't have him back in her life.

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**Playlist:**

**Wild Horses Cover-Elizabeth Gillies**

**Tik Tok-Ke$ha**

**Fix a Heart-Demi Lovato**

**You Da One-Rihanna**

**Edge of Glory-Lady Gaga**

**Take a Hint-Victoria Justice and Elizabeth Gillies**

**Die in Your Arms Cover-Ariana Grande**

**Sick-Evanescence**

**Review.**

**-klrob**


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